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| US military unveils heat-ray gun | US military unveils heat-ray gun |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The US military has given the first public display of what it says is a revolutionary heat-ray weapon to repel enemies or disperse hostile crowds. | |
| The gun - called Silent Guardian - projects an invisible high energy beam that produces a sudden burning feeling, but is actually harmless. | The gun - called Silent Guardian - projects an invisible high energy beam that produces a sudden burning feeling, but is actually harmless. |
| The beam can be fired as far as 500m (550 yards), much further than existing non-lethal weapons like rubber bullets. | |
| The gun should be in use by the US military within three years. | The gun should be in use by the US military within three years. |
| The prototype weapon uses a large rectangular dish mounted on a Humvee vehicle. | The prototype weapon uses a large rectangular dish mounted on a Humvee vehicle. |
| The waves can penetrate clothes but not walls, suddenly heating up the skin of anyone in its path to 50C. | The waves can penetrate clothes but not walls, suddenly heating up the skin of anyone in its path to 50C. |
| Journalists who volunteered to be zapped during the demonstration on an air base in the US state of Georgia described the sensation as similar to a blast from a very hot oven - too painful to bear and forcing them to dive for cover. | Journalists who volunteered to be zapped during the demonstration on an air base in the US state of Georgia described the sensation as similar to a blast from a very hot oven - too painful to bear and forcing them to dive for cover. |
| Military officials say the so-called "active denial system" is harmless, but could prove invaluable in the increasingly complex situations they face. | Military officials say the so-called "active denial system" is harmless, but could prove invaluable in the increasingly complex situations they face. |
| The marine colonel in charge said it was an alternative to going straight from shouting to shooting and could save lives. | The marine colonel in charge said it was an alternative to going straight from shouting to shooting and could save lives. |
| The system could be used both for dispersing hostile crowds during peace time, or in conflicts like Iraq and Afghanistan. | The system could be used both for dispersing hostile crowds during peace time, or in conflicts like Iraq and Afghanistan. |